Career Summary

Biography

I arrived at the University of Newcastle in 1998 to take up a part time teaching appointment and was promoted to Lecturer as of 1 Jan 2005. Since arriving at the University, as well as developing a teaching profile based on 200+ contact hours per annum, I have established myself as a researcher in the area of early male germ cell differentiation. I am now producing consistent output: I have coauthored 1 book chapter and 9 manuscripts in the last 4 years as well as 28 conference presentations. I have presented my work nationally and internationally (American Society of Andrology, USA, Phoenix USA 2003, UK Environmental Mutagenesis Society & 3rd International Congress on Male Mediated Developmental Toxicity, Bradford UK, 2005). As an indication of the continual rise in my profile I recently chaired a session at a national meeting (Australian Society of Reproductive Biology).

I currently serve on the Program Organising Committee for the 2007 annual meeting of the Society. I regularly review manuscripts for journals in both the Reproductive and Developmental biology fields. Student outcomes: I have successfully cosupervised Honours students with 7/10 awarded First Class since 1999. I have successfully supervised, as sole supervisor, one PhD student to completion (R. Baleato, PhD awarded 2005) with a publication in a high impact journal. Dr Baleatos thesis was unanimously praised by the assessors as being of a high standard. I have cosupervised two PhD students to completion M Wade (PhD awarded 2004) and J Holt (PhD awarded 2006). Both students have generated significant publications from their PhD projects. I currently cosupervise one student who is generating a manuscript for submission. I have been interviewed by various media (Fairfax 2004, 2006, NBN television 2005, The Medical Journal of Australia 2005). I have briefed government authorities on the neglected role of the male in the health of the offspring: Presentation to the Dept of Health and Aging, Office of Chemical Safety, Science Forum: Endocrine Disruptors: A Human Health Problem? Canberra, 2005.

Research ExpertiseMy experience is in gene expression and regulation, initially in breast cancer (Clarke et. al., 1990, 1991, Roman et. al., 1992, 1993). That work was focused on the role of retinoids in regulating gene expression in breast cancer and includes the initial description of the relationship between retinoid receptors and steroid hormone receptor status (Roman et. al., 1992). Retinoids are now part of the clinical arsenal employed in breast cancer treatment. On the basis of my interest in retinoids, I became interested in retinoids and stem cell biology (Lane et. al, 1999). That work involved metabolic profiling of embryonic stem cells. After a brief hiatus in the field of immunology, I arrived in Newcastle. My experience in the regulation of gene expression lead me to establish a number of techniques if use in Reproductive Science such as subtractive hybridisation and microarray analysis. Using these approaches and a number of other techniques we have cloned and characterised a number of genes (e.g. Curry et. al., 2004, Holt et. al., 2006).

In summary I have moved across fields, in the majority of cases employing new techniques to generate outcomes. I have now established a group focused on early germ cell differentiation. We have isolated spermatogonia and characterised gene expression in these cells. In particular we have sought to explain the arrested spermatogenesis found with vitamin A deficiency (Baleato et. al., 2005). Along with Prof R. John Aitken and Dr Eileen McLaughlin, I represent the Newcastle hub of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Biotechnology and Development. Dr McLaughlin and I supervise a programme within the Centre that has the immortalisation of spermatogonial stem cells as its goal. I also cosupervise a PhD project with Prof David Jans (Monash) addressing the role DNA packaging in DNA damage. Prof Aitken and I collaborate on the role of environmental exposure in generating DNA damage in the male germ line (Aitken et. al., 2006, 2007).

Teaching ExpertiseI am engaged in extensive teaching. I coordinate 3 courses of which ones is a core second year Biotech course (60+ students), one is the molecular lab skills course (80+ students) and one is a core 3rd year Biotech course (30+ students). I also teach into the 3rd year molecular biology course. I believe students are engaged by inquiry-based learning. My teaching approach involves the use of innovative teaching techniques to encourage inquiry-based learning. I believe that I am achieving this in all my courses. My student evaluation of teaching scores and comments suggest students perceive me as being enthusiastic, approachable and someone who will explain difficult concepts to the students. In general the students are motivated towards self-learning. One outcome is the students choose to do research placements and Honours with me and the outcome from that path is a graduate highly skilled in research. Students who do not go onto research have acquired life skills. In particular critical analysis and presentation skills are enhanced by the students exposure to my teaching.

Since my arrival at the University of Newcastle I have been extensively involved in curriculum design. I have generated or revised curriculum in at least one course per annum for the last eight years. I have introduced courses. In the last 2 years I have been the initiator of, and one of the driving forces behind, the extensive changes in the Biology curricula such that separate theoretical and practical courses are now taught. This separation has allowed for greater capacity, flexibility and a more focused learning experience. While it is too early for a complete evaluation all early feedback from students has been positive. I have generated both problem-based learning and inquiry-based learning curriculum. I presented on Peer Evaluation in Groupwork at the UniServe Science Symposium (Oct 2004).

Administrative ExpertiseI coordinate 3 courses with all the associated administration that entails. I have acted as chair of an informal Biology Discipline Curriculum Committee. The Committee developed and implemented the changes to the Biology curriculum detailed in the teaching statement. As part of the implementation I also act as informal timetabling officer for the Biology Discipline. I was an active participant in the informal meetings within the then Faculty of Science and Mathematics that ultimately lead to the Early Career Researcher Proposal. I was one of the original signatories to that proposal, which lead to recognition and support of ECRs by the Faculty of Science and IT. I served as the Early Career Researcher representative on the Faculty Research Committee of the Faculty of Science and IT for 12 months from February 2002. I organised and chaired the 2002 ForefronT conference, showcasing the research of ECRs within the Faculty of Science and IT. The conference was attended by the VC. I presented at the 2003 conference. I drafted, in collaboration with Dr. Michelle Adams, the Guidelines for Scientific Evaluation of Animal Ethics Applications by the FRC of the Faculty of Science and IT. I served on the selection committee for two research appointments within the Reproductive Science group.

Qualifications

PhD, University of New South Wales

Bachelor of Science, Flinders University

Bachelor of Science (Honours), Flinders University

Keywords

Cellular Biotechnology

Gene Expression

Molecular Biology

Reproductive Biology

Signal Transduction

Spermatogenesis

Stem Cell Biology

Vitamin A metabolism

Fields of Research

Code

Description

Percentage

060699

Physiology not elsewhere classified

50

110199

Medical Biochemistry and Metabolomics not elsewhere classified

15

060199

Biochemistry and Cell Biology not elsewhere classified

35

Professional Experience

UON Appointment

Title

Organisation / Department

Senior Lecturer

University of NewcastleSchool of Environmental and Life SciencesAustralia

Academic appointment

Dates

Title

Organisation / Department

1/05/1999 - 1/12/2004

Associate Lecturer

University of NewcastleSchool of Environmental and Life SciencesAustralia

1/06/1998 - 1/05/1999

Part time Associate Lecturer

University of NewcastleSchool of Environmental and Life SciencesAustralia

Acrylamide is a toxin that humans are readily exposed to due to its formation in many carbohydrate rich foods cooked at high temperatures. Acrylamide is carcinogenic, neurotoxic a... [more]

Acrylamide is a toxin that humans are readily exposed to due to its formation in many carbohydrate rich foods cooked at high temperatures. Acrylamide is carcinogenic, neurotoxic and causes reproductive toxicity when high levels of exposure are reached in mice and rats. Acrylamide induced effects on fertility occur predominantly in males. Acrylamide exerts its reproductive toxicity via its metabolite glycidamide, a product which is only formed via the cytochrome P450 detoxifying enzyme CYP2E1. Glycidamide is highly reactive and forms adducts with DNA. Chronic low dose acrylamide exposure in mice relevant to human exposure levels results in significantly increased levels of DNA damage in terms of glycidamide adducts in spermatocytes, the specific germ cell stage where Cyp2e1 is expressed. Since cells in the later stages of spermatogenesis are unable to undergo DNA repair, and this level of acrylamide exposure causes no reduction in fertility, there is potential for this damage to persist until sperm maturation and fertilisation. Cyp2e1 is also present within epididymal cells, allowing for transiting spermatozoa to be exposed to glycidamide. This could have consequences for future generations in terms of predisposition to diseases such as cancer, with growing indications that paternal DNA damage can be propagated across multiple generations. Since glycidamide is the major contributor to DNA damage, a mechanism for preventing these effects is inhibiting the function of Cyp2e1. Resveratrol is an example of an inhibitor of Cyp2e1 which has shown success in reducing damage caused by acrylamide treatment in mice.

Retinoids, vitamin A (retinol) and its metabolic derivatives, are required for normal vertebrate development. In murine embryonic stem (ES) cells, which remain undifferentiated when cultured in the presence of LIF (leukemia inhibitory factor), little metabolism of exogenously added retinol takes place. After LIF removal, ES cells metabolize exogenously added retinol to 4-hydroxyretinol and 4-oxoretinol and concomitantly differentiate. The conversion of retinol to 4-oxoretinol is a high-capacity reaction because most of the exogenous retinol is metabolized rapidly, even when cells are exposed to physiological (Â¿1 ÂµM) concentrations of retinol in the medium. No retinoic acid or 4-oxoRA synthesis from retinol was detected in ES cells cultured with or without LIF. The cytochrome P450 enzyme CYP26 (retinoic acid hydroxylase) is responsible for the metabolism of retinol to 4-oxoretinol, and CYP26 mRNA is greatly induced (>15-fold) after LIF removal. Concomitant with the expression of CYP26, differentiating ES cells grown in the absence of LIF activate the expression of the differentiation marker gene FGF-5 whereas the expression of the stem cell marker gene FGF-4 decreases. The strong correlation between the production of polar metabolites of retinol and the differentiation of ES cells upon removal of LIF suggests that one important action of LIF in these cells is to prevent retinol metabolism to biologically active, polar metabolites such as 4-oxoretinol.

Roman SD, 'Expression and activity of phase 1 detoxifying enzymes in the male germ line of the mouse', Proceedings of the Thirty-Eighth Annual Conference Society for Reproductive Biology, Christchurch, New Zealand (2007) [E3]

Past Supervision

The Consequences of Acrylamide Exposure of the Male Germ LineBiological Sciences, Faculty of Science and Information TechnologyPrincipal Supervisor

2013

Regulation of the Transition from Gonocytes to SpermatogoniaBiological Sciences, Faculty of Science and Information TechnologyCo-Supervisor

2013

Investigation of the Transcription Complex in Acinetobacter baylyi ADP1 and the Identification of the Novel Small Acidic Transcription Factor AtfABiological Sciences, Faculty of Science and Information TechnologyCo-Supervisor